HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- "We don't value fathers any less in 2012 than we did in
1962," Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz says when asked why 50 years
after its release, "To Kill a Mockingbird" still regularly turns up on those "Best
American Films of All-Time" lists.

The film, based on the 1960 Harper Lee novel of the same
name, debuted in theaters Dec. 25, 1962.

Gregory Peck's rich portrayal of oak-strong Southern
attorney/dad Atticus Finch netted the La Jolla, Calif. native the 1962 Academy
Award for Best Actor. It was Peck's sole Oscar win after being nominated four
times previously in the same category.

"For all the films we have about a father protecting his
family and for standing up for what's right, I don't know you can do better," Mankiewicz
says. The former host of illustrious
film review TV show "At the Movies" calls for this interview while driving his Ford
Escape in Culver City, Calif. "I think
the studio's first choice (for the Atticus Finch role) was Rock Hudson. He was
a good actor, but if Harper Lee hadn't insisted on Gregory Peck, it seems like
it would have thrown all of Hollywood's history on its axis."

Although the watch Peck wears onscreen was a prop, Lee gave
him her own father's watch after the film wrapped. Yet, as note-perfect as Peck's
performance is, Mankiewicz says the overall authentic of "To Kill a Mocking
bird" is equally pivotal.

"There's really not a false moment in the movie. There are
moments were it could have felt like an 'After School Special,' but it never
felt that way. Keep in mind the year it was made, 1962 - before the Civil Right
Act, before the Voting Rights Act – to address race relations seriously,
realistically and not sentimentally..."

Mankiewicz also points out "To Kill a Mockingbird" relies
heavily on the performance of child actors, "and that can be dangerous,
especially in dramas, but (in 'To Kill a Mockingbird') they're great." Also,
look for the respected Robert Duvall's first performance on celluloid, as the
mysterious, reclusive "Boo" Radley.

There's little doubt the film helped later other race-themed
movies, such as 1967 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" to 1989's "Do the Right Thing," get made – particularly since
"To Kill a Mockingbird," which cost $2 million to produce, did $20 million at
the box office.

But Mankiewicz feels those films would've eventually happened
anyway

"The movement for racial equality in the country is bigger than
any movie. Bold filmmakers like ('Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' director) Stanley
Kramer where going to make movies about race. They weren't going to be deterred
from taking on significant issues of the day. The march of progress was
inevitable. But ('To Kill a Mockingbird') did speak at a very critical time to
some important issues"